1780 Atlantic hurricane season (astrohuncho)
The 1780 Atlantic hurricane season was a hyperactive Atlantic hurricane season and the deadliest in recorded history with over 31,000 deaths. A majority of all thirteen known tropical cyclones that formed were hurricanes. The season had no official bounds, but it ran through the summer and fall of 1780. The first storm, Adela, formed on April 14 as a subtropical cyclone in the Northeastern Atlantic, bringing rainfall and winds to the Azores but causing little damage. The final storm, Jacqueline, likely became extratropical on November 18 after disrupting British naval activities near New England. Only three named storms, Adela, Edmund, and Jacqueline, failed to make landfall as a tropical or subtropical cyclone. The deadliest and strongest storm of the season was Hurricane Georgie, previously known as Hurricane San Calixto and the Great Hurricane of 1780, which is tied for the highest 1-minute sustained wind speeds from an Atlantic hurricane with Hurricane Allen, and is the most deadly Atlantic hurricane on record, with over 22,000 deaths, due to its severe effects on the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola among other islands. Hurricane Cameron rapidly intensified and made landfall on New Orleans as a Category 4 hurricane, causing severe damage and killing 25 people. Hurricane Flora also reached Category 4 strength, affecting Jamaica, where most of the documented damage occurred, Cuba, and the Bahamas, creating a 20 foot storm surge in some areas, sinking various British ships, and killing around 3,000 people. Hurricane Hilary is most known for striking a Spanish naval fleet under José Solano, killing half of the 4,000 soldiers aboard; it still likely affected Cuba and modern-day Florida, peaking at Category 4 intensity. Other storms that affected land include Hurricane Brook, a Category 2 hurricane which affected St. Lucia and Puerto Rico, killing 4,000 to 5,000 people, Tropical Storm Derek, which affected St. Kitts as a strong tropical storm, and Hurricane Ivy, which struck the Caribbean islands of Barbados and St. Lucia; this is not mentioning the multiple tropical depressions which affected modern day Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Collectively, the storms of this season caused over 31,000 deaths, which continues to be the most on record to this day; due to the time period of the hurricane season and lack of records, exact figures of damages are unknown. Seasonal summary ImageSize = width:800 height:240 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:270 AlignBars = early DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:04/01/1880 till:12/31/1880 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:04/01/1880 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TD value:rgb(0.38,0.73,1) legend:Tropical_Depression=_≤_39_mph_(≤_62_km/h) id:TS value:rgb(0,0.98,0.96) legend:Tropical_Storm=_40-73_mph_(63-117_km/h) id:C1 value:rgb(1,1,0.80) legend:Category_1=_74-95_mph_(118-153_km/h) id:C2 value:rgb(1,0.91,0.46) legend:Category_2=_96-110_mph_(154-177_km/h) id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.76,0.25) legend:Category_3=_111-130_mph_(178-209_km/h) id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.56,0.13) legend:Category_4=_131-155_mph_(210-249_km/h) id:C5 value:rgb(1,0.38,0.38) legend:Category_5=_≥_156_mph_(≥250_mph) Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData = barset:hurricane width:11 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:04/14/1880 till:04/17/1880 color:TS text:Adela (SS) from:06/09/1880 till:06/14/1880 color:C2 text:Brook (C2) from:07/11/1880 till:07/13/1880 color:TD text:Three (TD) from:08/21/1880 till:08/25/1880 color:C4 text:Cameron (C4) from:08/23/1880 till:08/25/1880 color:TS text:Derek (TS) from:08/31/1880 till:09/02/1880 color:TS text: barset:break barset:skip barset:skip barset:skip barset:skip barset:skip from:09/06/1880 till:09/19/1880 color:C3 text:Edmund (C3) from:09/08/1880 till:09/09/1880 color:TD text:Seven (TD) from:09/30/1880 till:10/10/1880 color:C4 text:Flora (C4) from:10/04/1880 till:10/20/1880 color:C5 text:Georgie (C5) barset:break from:10/13/1880 till:10/22/1880 color:C4 text:Hilary (C4) from:10/22/1880 till:10/25/1880 color:C1 text:Ivy (C1) from:11/02/1880 till:11/05/1880 color:TD text: barset:break barset:skip barset:skip from:11/07/1880 till:11/07/1880 color:TD text:Thirteen (SD) from:11/14/1880 till:11/19/1880 color:C2 text:Jacqueline (C2) bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:04/01/1880 till:05/01/1880 text:April from:05/01/1880 till:06/01/1880 text:May from:06/01/1880 till:07/01/1880 text:June from:07/01/1880 till:08/01/1880 text:July from:08/01/1880 till:09/01/1880 text:August from:09/01/1880 till:10/01/1880 text:September from:10/01/1880 till:11/01/1880 text:October from:11/01/1880 till:12/01/1880 text:November from:12/01/1880 till:12/31/1880 text:December TextData = pos:(570,30) text:"(from the " pos:(620,30) text:"Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale)" The 1780 Atlantic hurricane season had 10 named storms, 8 hurricanes, and 5 major hurricanes. Seven of the 10 named storms made landfall as a tropical cyclone, and six of these seven struck the Caribbean islands. In total, storms from the 1780 season caused at least 28,000 deaths, which is the most for a single Atlantic hurricane season in recorded history; this is possibly due to the fact that during the American Revolutionary War, various naval engagements occurred between Britain and America’s allies France, Spain, and the Netherlands. No one could forecast when a hurricane would strike at the time, and buildings and ships were not strong enough to protect soldiers from such storms, so many deaths occurred. The season started with Subtropical Storm Adela in mid-April, which passed through the Azores with peak winds of 65 mph (100 km/h); no damage or deaths are known to have been reported. Hurricane Brook followed in June, reaching Category 2 intensity as it made landfall on St. Lucia, then Puerto Rico, causing at least 4,000 deaths. Tropical Depression Three was the only tropical cyclone of this season from the month of July; it likely caused heavy rains in modern-day Honduras and Nicaragua. Late August saw the formation of three tropical cyclones, including Hurricane Cameron, a relatively short-lived Category 4 hurricane which made landfall on New Orleans, Tropical Storm Derek, which affected St. Kitts, and Hurricane Edmund, a major hurricane which did not affect land. Edmund lasted until mid-September, by which Tropical Depression Seven had already formed and dissipated, affecting modern-day Mexico. Hurricane Flora formed on the last day of September and carried into early October; it was a strong Category 4 hurricane which affected Jamaica, Cuba, and the Bahamas before dissipating. The deadly, intense, and catastrophic Hurricane Georgie followed, forming in early October and affecting every island in the Lesser Antilles north of Grenada (especially the island of Barbados), Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola. Georgie peaked at winds of 190 mph (305 km/h), tied with Hurricane Allen of 1980 for the highest recorded sustained winds of an Atlantic hurricane. It caused over 22,000 deaths, a record in the North Atlantic basin. In mid-October, the slow-moving Hurricane Hilary affected the western regions of Cuba and the present-day Florida Panhandle, striking a Spanish naval fleet on the way at Category 4 strength, killing over 2,000 people. Hurricane Ivy affected St. Lucia and Barbados in late October, only weeks after Georgie ravaged the area. In November, Hurricane Jacqueline tracked northward through the Gulf Stream, peaking at Category 2 intensity as it affected a British blockade of New England. The season's activity was reflected with an accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) rating of 170, which is regarded as indicative of a hyperactive season. Broadly speaking, ACE is a measure of the power of a tropical or subtropical storm multiplied by the length of time it existed. Therefore, a storm was a long duration, such as Edmund, as well as particularly strong hurricanes, such as Georgie, will have high values of ACE. It is only calculated for best-track points at six hour intervals on specific tropical and subtropical systems reaching or exceeding wind speeds of 39 mph (63 km/h). Accordingly, tropical depressions are not included here. All tracks of this season were discovered in the lost journals of a person of the time period, named Sojourner Maven (d. 1815), who meticulously collected information on each tropical cyclone present in this season. This information was later discovered and analyzed by modern meteorologists, who were able to enter the information (albeit re-analyzed) into official best-track databases. Systems Subtropical Storm Adela An area of low pressure formed on April 12, and organized into a subtropical depression southwest of the Azores on April 14. It began intensifying as it tracked northeastward, and became Subtropical Storm Adela on April 15. Adela would reach peak winds of 65 mph (100 km/h) before transitioning into a post-tropical cyclone as it traveled through the Azores on April 16. This post-tropical cyclone would last until April 17. Records indicate that strong winds were felt in the city of Angra do Heroísmo, likely due to the post-tropical remnants of Adela. The amount of damage caused by Adela is unknown. Hurricane Brook A tropical wave developed into a tropical depression while about 850 miles east of Barbados on June 9. Within 12 hours, the depression had intensified into Tropical Storm Brook as it tracked southwestward. Brook’s rapid intensification continued; on June 10, Brook became a Category 1 hurricane while it was now moving west-northwestward. Brook would pass only dozens of miles north of Barbados as it continued to intensify. Brook reached its peak intensity with winds of 105 mph as it made landfall on the island of St. Lucia on June 11. After landfall, weakening ensued, and by the next day Brook had weakened to a tropical storm as its generally westward track continued for some time more. Brook then quickly recurved northward, re-strengthening to a Category 1 hurricane as it hit Puerto Rico on June 13. Weakening ensued, and Brook was last spotted as a tropical depression of June 14. Brook is known to have caused from 4,000 to 5,000 deaths on the island of St. Lucia. Brook also affected Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. Death figures for these islands are unknown. Tropical Depression Three An area of low pressure formed off the coast of Nicaragua on July 9. It slowly moved northward, and it developed into a tropical depression on July 11. It tracked along the eastern coasts of Honduras and Nicaragua, peaking at winds of 30 mph (45 km/h) as it continued to move slowly. The depression struck the coast of Honduras and then promptly dissipated on July 12. Records indicate heavy rain was reported on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. Exact damage and death figures are unknown for this tropical depression. Hurricane Cameron A tropical wave crossed the western tip of Cuba before developing into a tropical depression on August 21. It then tracked westward, intensifying into a tropical storm before sharply turning north-northwestward as it intensified into the second hurricane of the season. Cameron then continued its intensification as it neared the coast of Louisiana, intensifying into a major hurricane on October 23 as it made landfall on the southern coast of Louisiana with peak winds of 145 mph (230 km/h). Cameron then weakened as it went inland, becoming extratropical on August 24 with tropical-storm-force wind speeds. A majority of Grand Isla, Louisiana’s structures were destroyed by Cameron. Heavy damage was also reported in what is now known as the French Quarter. Estimates place the amount of deaths at around 25. Tropical Storm Derek A tropical wave developed into a tropical depression on August 23 east of the Leeward Islands, tracking westward as it developed into a tropical storm, named Derek, on August 24. It made landfall on St. Kitts, with peak winds of 65 mph (100 km/h). No records are known of Derek’s damage, and no deaths are known to have been caused by the storm. Hurricane Edmund A tropical wave organized into a tropical depression just off of Cape Verde on August 31. It intensified into Tropical Storm Edmund the following day. On September 2, however, after peaking with winds of around 50 mph (85 km/h), Edmund de-generated into a remnant low, meandering west-northwestward and steering clear of the Lesser Antilles. Records indicate that Edmund re-generated into a tropical depression northwest of the Leeward Islands on September 6, quickly re-intensifying into a tropical storm before intensifying into a hurricane, the third of the season, the following day. Edmund then began to slow down as it tracked in a more westward fashion, likely encountering less favorable conditions; it weakened to a strong tropical storm on September 9, as it began to decelerate before beginning to head northeastward, during which Edmund slowly began to restrengthen, becoming a Category 1 hurricane again on September 11. The strengthening continued, and on the next day, Edmund became a Category 2 hurricane as its track began to track southward. The following couple of days, Edmund would fluctuate between Category 2 and 3 intensity as it began to slow down again while moving in a southerly direction. Edmund then proceeded to move in a northeast direction as it reached its peak intensity of 125 mph (205 km/h) on September 15. Edmund weakened as it moved northwestward, becoming extratropical on September 15 as it retained Category 1-equivalent winds. Records indicate the remnants of Edmund continued to weaken before dissipating on September 19. Light swells were reported on the British island of Bermuda in the night of September 10. Cape Verde also suffered some rain from Edmund’s precursor. Edmund is not known to have caused any loss of life. Tropical Depression Seven A tropical wave crossed the Yucatán Peninsula in a westward fashion before developing into a tropical depression on September 8 in the Bay of Campeche. After some time, the depression began moving to the south, making landfall on the southern Atlantic coast of present day Mexico with peak winds of 30 mph (45 km/h) on September 9, before deteriorating into a remnant low as it made its way inland. Hurricane Flora A tropical wave began organizing before developing into a tropical depression just northwest of Aruba on September 30. The next day, the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Flora. Flora began rapidly intensifying, becoming a hurricane by the next day as it began to track to the northwest, becoming a Category 2 hurricane the same day. As Flora continued to intensify, it began to slow down before becoming a major hurricane on October 2. Just 12 hours later, Flora reached Category 4 intensity as it was beginning to head towards the western coast of Jamaica, making landfall with peak winds of 155 mph (250 km/h) on October 3. After making its way through the western end of Jamaica, Flora emerged a Category 2 hurricane before proceeding to make landfall on southern Cuba on October 4. As Flora trekked across Cuba, it emerged a strong tropical storm due to the effects of land as it proceeded to move through the Eastern Bahamas. Flora began to strengthen again as it moved northward, eventually reaching Category 2 intensity for a second time as it swerved to the northeast, following a generally north-northeast to northeast direction as it weakened to a tropical storm and then became extratropical south of Nova Scotia on October 8. The remnants of Flora were last spotted east of St. John’s, Newfoundland on October 10. Flora caused widespread devastation in Jamaica as a whole. The port city of Savanna-la-Mar was destroyed as it was engulfed by a 20 ft (6 m) storm surge. Similarly, the towns of Lucea and Montego Bay on the northwestern coast of Jamaica were ravaged by Flora. As Flora began its rapid intensification as a tropical storm on October 1, the British transport ship Monarch sunk with all hands; at later points in the hurricane’s trajectory, more British ships were reported as sunk due to the storm. Flora is estimated to have caused around 3,000 deaths. Hurricane Georgie A tropical wave moved across Cape Verde and the Eastern Atlantic before developing into a tropical storm on October 4. Georgie then immediately began to intensify, becoming a Category 1 hurricane by the next day as it continued to track westward. Georgie would intensify into a Category 2, and then a Category 3 hurricane in the following days. For a short period, Georgie fluctuated between Category 2 and 3 intensity before likely discovering favorable conditions and rapidly intensifying, going from winds of 125 mph (205 km/h) to 180 mph (285 km/h), becoming the earliest-known Category 5 hurricane on record, within 24 hours. Georgie would slow down as it reached Category 5 intensity as it neared the Lesser Antilles, before making landfall on the island of Barbados on October 10 with peak sustained winds of 190 mph (305 km/h) and a minimum surface-level pressure of 889 mbar (26.25 inHg). Georgie then began to move northward through the Lesser Antilles, either brushing or making landfall, as it weakened from its peak to a Category 3 intensity as it emerged into the Eastern Caribbean two days later. By the next day, Georgie re-intensified into a Category 4, and then a Category 5 hurricane as it tracked westward south of Puerto Rico, before moving north-northwestward through the Mona Passage and meandering ever closer to Hispaniola, before weakening and making landfall in the present-day Dominican Republic province of Samaná on October 15. Georgie would continue to weaken, passing east of the present-day Turks and Caicos a a Category 2 hurricane, then weakening to a Category 1 hurricane. Georgie would re-strengthen to Category 2 intensity as it tracked close to Bermuda before weakening again. On October 19, Georgie became extratropical with Category 1-equivalent wind speeds. The remnants of Georgie would weaken before dissipating east of Newfoundland. The impacts of Georgie were felt across the entire Lesser Antilles, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda. Anywhere from 22,000 to 27,501 people died from Georgie, a record that has yet to be surpassed to this day. Georgie produced heavy storms surges, sunk many ships, and destroyed various structures across the Lesser Antilles, even stripping the bark off some trees in Barbados. Georgie is the strongest landfalling Atlantic hurricane on record. Hurricane Hilary A broad area of low pressure organized into a tropical depression on October 13 far north of present-day Panama. It slowly meandered northward as it intensified into a tropical storm the same day. Late on October 14, Hilary intensified into a hurricane as it began to head to the northwest southwest of Jamaica. Hilary then began to head towards the western regions of Cuba, continuing to intensify. On October 16, Hilary made landfall on the Isle of Pines with winds of 115 mph (185 km/h). Due to the effects of land, Hilary weakened to a strong Category 1 hurricane as it emerged from the western regions of Cuba. By the time it began to reintensify, Hilary began to slow down, moving northward. Late on October 17, Hilary reintensified into a Category 3 hurricane, then into a Category 4 hurricane just 12 hours later as it continued to slow down. Hilary would fluctuate between Category 3 and 4 intensity as it curved northeastward, making landfall on the western coast of the Florida peninsula on October 18 with peak winds of 130 mph (215 km/h). Hilary then crossed the northern part of present-day Florida into the Atlantic, weakening in the process and then undergoing extratropical transition on October 21 far east of Virginia. The remnants of Hilary were last spotted near present-day Maine on October 22. The only known damage caused by the hurricane on record was inflicted on a Spanish war fleet of 64 vessels under José Solano as it made its way near the Florida coast. Records indicate the encounter left 2,000 of the 4,000 men in the fleet dead. Hurricane Ivy A tropical depression formed east of the Lesser Antilles on October 22, moving to the southwest as it developed into a tropical storm, named Ivy, late the same day. Ivy continued to intensify, peaking with winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) as it neared Barbados and striked St. Lucia on October 23. Ivy then weakened after landfall, eventually deteriorating into some kind of post-tropical cyclone the next day. Ivy was last seen as a remnant low on October 25. Due to the time period in which Ivy took place, there are no damage or death figures. Subtropical Depression Twelve An area of low pressure became a subtropical depression on November 2. The depression took a compact cyclonic loop before degenerating into a remnant low on November 4. The remnant low moved north-northeastward before regenerating into a subtropical depression on November 8. The depression made landfall on Portugal before degenerating into a remnant low for the final time the same day. Due to the time period in which the subtropical depression took place, there are no damage or death figures. Hurricane Jacqueline An area of low pressure developed into a tropical depression, the thirteenth of the season, east of the Bahamas on November 14. The depression meandered westward, then north-northwestward as it intensified, becoming a tropical storm the next day. Soon afterward, Jacqueline began to speed up as it likely moved along the Gulf Stream. The storm continued to intensify, becoming a hurricane on November 16 as it passed to the far east of Grand Bahama. Jacqueline would peak the next day with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (155 km/h) as it passed to the east of the Outer Banks while tracking northward. This Category 2 intensity would persist for some time before Jacqueline weakened to a Category 1 hurricane, and then undergoing extratropical transition on November 18. The remnants of Jacqueline would track east-northeastward before they were last spotted as a weak remnant low south of Newfoundland. The only damage known to have been caused by Jacqueline is disruption of a British blockade of the coast of the United States. No death tolls or damage figures are known. Season effects The following table lists all of the storms that formed in the 1780 Atlantic hurricane season. It includes their duration, names, landfall(s) (in parentheses), damages, and death totals. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low. Due to a lack of detailed statistics, no monetary damage figures are known, and no distinction can be made between direct and indirect deaths. Storm names The following names have been applied from the contemporary records of Sojourner Maven for named storms that formed in the North Atlantic in 1780. Since these names were applied on a storm-by-storm basis and not from a known list, it is assumed that no other storm names exist. See also *List of Atlantic hurricanes *List of Atlantic hurricane seasons Category:Atlantic hurricane seasons Category:Hyper-active seasons Category:Pre-1851 Atlantic hurricane seasons Category:Astrohuncho